Door fastener



United States Patent 3,494,653 DOOR FASTENER George Edward Steele, 78 W.Grove, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England Filed Jan. 2, 1968, Ser. No.694,955 Claims priority, application Great Britain, May 25, 1967,24,421/ 67 Int. Cl. Ec 19/18 U.S. Cl. 292-291 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE The portable door fastener includes a strip of material whichcan be inserted between a door and a door jamb and has a projectionadapted to engage in a bolt-hole or like recess in the jamb, also atoggle lever abutment which can be caused to engage the inner surface ofthe door adjacent the jamb so as to hold the door firmly closed. Thetoggle lever abutment is in the form of a second strip permanentlypivotally attached to the first strip and bent in zig-zag manner so asto accommodate a number of aligned guide-holes. A clamping screw extendsthrough the guide-holes with its axis parallel to the plane of thestrip. The second strip is pivotable to bring the axis of the screw froma door engagement position parallel to the said rst strip into anon-engagement position at right angles thereto parallel to the door orjamb face.

This invention relates to a portable door fastener which can be easilyapplied to an ordinary door so as to fasten it from the inside in such away as to give maximum security to anyone on the inside of the door.

The fastener consists of a strip of material which can be insertedbetween the door and the door jamb and has a projection adapted toengage in a bolt-hole or like recess in or on the jamb, and which alsohas an abutment which can be caused to engage the inner surface of thedoor adjacent the jamb so as to hold the door rmly closed. The abutmentmay be a cam, toggle lever or other device constructed or equipped withmeans for adjustment to suit the thickness of the door.

The invention will be fully understood from the following more detaileddescription by way of example, of one embodiment thereof, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View showing the device applied to a doorjamb, and

FIGURE 2 is a similar view showing the device holding the door firmlyclosed.

In this embodiment, the strip of material is a flat steel strip 1 andthe projection is produced by bending the strip as indicated at 2 in thedrawing so as to form a loop which is squeezed flat and projects atright-angles to the main body of the strip. The projection is thusintegral with the strip. It is spaced a short distance from theextremity of the strip so that the strip has a projecting end 3 which istrapped between the door and the door jamb and thus gives additionalsupport to the projection when the fastening is in use. v

A toggle lever abutment is formed by another strip 4 pivotally attachedto the iirst mentioned strip by a rivet 5 and bent in zig-zag manner soas to accommodate a number of aligned guide-holes which receive aclamping screw with its axis parallel to the plane of the strip 1. Theclamping screw 6 has an inner end equipped with a cap 7 made of rubber,plastics or other material for engaging the door and an outer endequipped with a knob 8 made of metal, plastics or other material. It isheld in place 3,494,653 Patented Feb. 10, 1970 ICC by a nut 9 threadedon it and trapped between adjacent bends in the zig-zag strip 4. i

The fastening can be easily carried in a pocket or handbag and can beused to fasten almost any door or like closure. In use the projection 2carried by the strip 1 is engaged in a bolt-hole or like recess in or onthe jamb and then the door is closed so that one end of the strip istrapped between the edge of the door and the door jamb. The abutment(which is swung into a position approximately at right-angles to thestrip as shown in FIG- URE 1 to allow the door to be closed) is thenswung into alignment with the strip so that its inner end is broughtinto engagement with the inner surface of the door as shown in FIGURE 2.The abutment is tightened if necessary by rotating the screw 6 to holdthe door rrnly closed.

As illustrated in the drawing, the projection 2 is inserted into thekeeper 10 of a mortise lock. The bolt hole in which the projection isengaged is thus actually in the door jamb. However, the device is notnecessarily limited to doors having mortise locks. In the case of a doorhaving a rim lock, the projection may be inserted into the keeper of therim lock attached to the face of the door jamb, and the abutment mayengage the surface of the rim lock, which for this purpose is regardedas part of the door. To enable the device to be used effectively forfastening doors with rim locks it may be necessary to provide it with aprojecting end 3 which is of greater length than that needed for adevice designed for use with mortise locks only.

A cam or wedge could be substituted for the abutment lever described.The complete device can easily be made very strong so as to `give a highdegree of security and is independent of any key.

I claim:

1. A portable door fastener comprising a strip of material which can beinserted between a door and a door jamb and having a projection adaptedto engage in a bolt-hole or like recess in the jamb, and a toggle leverabutment which can be caused to engage the inner surface of the dooradjacent the jamb so as to hold the door firmly closed, which togglelever abutment is in the form of a second strip permanently pivotallyattached to the first strip and bent in zig-zag manner so as toaccommodate a number of aligned guide-holes which receive a clampingscrew with its axis parallel to the plane of the strip, the said secondstrip being pivotable to bring the axis of the screw from a doorengagement position parallel to the said rst strip to a non-engagementat right angles thereto parallel to the door or jamb face.

2. In a fastener as set forth in claim 1, a nut for said screwpositioned within one bend of the zig-zag strip.

3. In a fastener as set forth in claim 1, a bumper at one end of saidscrew; and a knurled knob at the other end of said screw.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 618,844 2/1899 Corey 292-2971,055,830 3/1913 Tate 292-291 1,429,536 9/ 1922 Robinson 292-2911,549,805 8/ 1925 Roman 292-288 2,461,398 2/ 1949 Sands 292-2972,786,705 3/ 1957 Stalmer 292-297 RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner E.I. MCCARTHY, Assistant Examiner

